


The Other Side of the Story

by mariesanasz



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Good Regulus Black, Good Severus Snape, Hufflepuff Pride, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), POV Regulus Black, Regulus Black Lives, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:34:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariesanasz/pseuds/mariesanasz
Summary: Regulus has always known that Sirius would do anything to protect him and that is why he found his own way of doing the same for him.After a violent confrontation with his mother the day after Sirius' departure for his first year at Hogwarts, Regulus makes a deal with Walburga and cuts off any kind of contact with his brother.Now in his first year at Hogwarts, the Blacks' youngest heir will have to choose between going his own way or preventing his brother from getting hurt. Follow Regulus' trajectory at Hogwarts where he will do his best to not break all expectations of his family, while trying to discover a way of doing the right thing and the type of person he wants to be in the company of a chatty and bad-tempered hufflepuff who simply refuses to leave him alone.Being a Black is not easy, but sometimes it can be more than you can handle. Regulus has always known that people had high expectations for him, but what can happen when he simply cannot or does not want to achieve what is expected of him.This is the other side of the story of the boy who did everything for whom he loved and for what he believed to be right
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Regulus Black/Original Female Character(s), Regulus Black/Sirius Black
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. Sirius' first year

The Black family house had risen loudly on the morning of September 1st. It wasn't like this was rare, after all; everyone was already used to the heated discussions between Walburga and her eldest son. Today, however, the situation was more chaotic than usual.

Sirius fervently argued that he had the right to be selected for a house other than his family's and that it was not up to him to choose which house he would fall into -although everyone knew that even if it depended on him, he would choose another one-. In contrast, the woman pointed out that the boy had responsibilities and duties to the Black family and that meant that no dishonorable attitude would be accepted. Doing his best to ignore the screams, Regulus got up slowly and started preparing for the day.

The boy knew that things would most likely change when Sirius went to Hogwarts. Partly because he knew that his brother would make new friends and as much as he tried to be happy for him, he couldn't help but feel scared that Sirius would forget about him, and partly feared that his suspicions were correct and his brother would be sorted to another house. Just thinking about how Walburga would react made a shiver go through the boy's body.

The young Black sighed and went down for the breakfast. He sat down at the table that was already set and stared at it without much surprise. It was obvious that he would have breakfast alone, again. Surprise would it be if there were someone to keep him company over a meal. He did not blame his brother thought; after all, it was difficult to have a day where his mother did not take at least one of his meals for bad behavior. Sirius was without a doubt the most courageous and stupid person that Regulus knew, he did not hesitate to express his disgust for the family's values and beliefs, which cost him many days without food and bruises. The youngest, however, had always been calmer. Some people said that this was the main difference between the brothers since Regulus did not dare to argue with anyone in his family. Not because he agreed with what they preached, but because his ten years of life taught him that agreeing was much less laborious and painful.

As some people liked to point out, Sirius was the brave one and Regulus the obedient one. The youngest, however, did not like this comparison. He definitely knew he wasn't as brave as Sirius, but he didn't think he was a coward who followed everything his family says. For him, the only remarkable difference between them when it comes to this was the fact that Sirius was much more careless.

The young Black looked at the table and took some of the favorite delicacies of his brother. He finished eating his own food and went silently to the second floor. Regulus walked carefully to Sirius' door and entered it quietly. His brother was irritated, mumbling something while throwing some belongings into his trunk.

"What you want?" Asked Sirius in a sullen tone. Regulus deposited the food on his bed.

"You can't go out without eating," Regulus replied with his usual nonchalant tone and left the room.

They had been taught from an early age to never give in to emotions and always maintain composure. "The Blacks never give in" was the phrase that Walburga spoke most to his children since they were old enough to understand. For Sirius this has always been impossible, but for young Regulus this has never been a problem. He was good at doing things behind the scenes, being a discreet and polite young man usually made no one pay much attention to him. The only person who made him feel comfortable enough to drop his role was Sirius.

He heard his brother bring his trunk downstairs with difficulty and joined him.

"Thank you," murmured the eldest with a guilty look. Regulus smiled slightly.

"How do you think it will be Hogwarts?" Asked the youngest.

"Hopefully better than here," Sirius muttered, Regulus stifled a laugh.

"This year is going to be difficult for you, Reggie," Sirius said in a concerned tone.

"I know," murmured the youngest, Sirius sighed and put his hands on his shoulders.

"You need to be strong, okay? I can't believe I'm saying this, but please. Behave" Sirius asked with a visibly worried look.

"I'll be fine," Regulus assured him and gave his brother a hug.

Sirius felt bad for leaving his brother in that house. He feared what his mother would do to his little brother when he left. Of course, Regulus was the favorite son but for Walburga that didn't make any difference, he always tried to avoid any kind of situation that could possibily get Regulus into trouble. He always looked out for his little brother. Always. As much as himself had never actually seen his mother even raise hand to Reggie, he didn't feel any better. His fear was that his family would try to fill his brother's head with their ridiculous ideas about how purebloods are better than anyone. He wasn't blind; he saw that the treatment with Regulus was always different. The only thing that did make him feel better was the fact that he knew his baby brother was tougher than he looked. Those disgusting snakes that Sirius was obliged to call family thought that Regulus was easier to be convinced just because he's normally a passive kid. However, Sirius knew his brother well enough to know that as passive as Regulus was he was far too smart to be manipulated. Since childhood, Sirius noticed that people always seemed to be more impress by Regulus' extremely appropriate behavior than his own rebellious attitudes. Consequently, they realized that it was much easier to try to input their distorted values in Regulus head than in Sirius'.

Right after that, Walburga appeared and soon started shouting that they were late, apparating with her children to Hogwarts station.

**************************************************** ***************************

A day after Sirius left, Regulus woke up with screams as usual. The difference was that this time his mother's voice echoed through the house alone. The boy sighed, already wondering why. "Sirius" the boy thought getting up.

He did his hygiene as usual and called for the house elf.

"Hello Kreacher," said Regulus.

"Good morning Master Regulus, how can Kreacher be useful?" Asked the elf with his big ears flapping.

"I would like you to bring my breakfast, if possible," asked the boy and the elf denied.

"Kreacher is sorry, mistress ordered Kreacher not to bring food to the young master. Mistress said that Kreacher should ask Master Regulus to join his family for the meal," explained the elf. Regulus was surprised, but agreed. Kreacher bowed slightly and disappeared with a snap.

The boy made sure to look even better dressed than usual and went down to join his parents. When he reached the floor below he immediately felt the tension in the room, the boy walked slowly over to one of the chairs and sat down. Regulus stared at the food in front of him, unsure whether to eat or not.

His father gave him a cold stare and got up.

"I shall leave for work" he warned and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.

He looked coldly at his son and disappeared with a snap.

"Eat," said his mother in an unusually sweet tone. The boy obeyed and helped himself with a toast.

He expected his mom to say something while nibbling on the toast; the atmosphere was so tense that the boy regretted complaining about eating alone. He heard his mother clearing her throat and dropped the toast instantly.

"I suppose you don't know that your brother wrote to us," said Walburga with disgust, Regulus denied. The woman handed him the letter aggressively.

The boy read the letter carefully and soon understood what this was all about. Sirius had written to them and warned that his selection had not been as planned. He had been sorted to Gryffindor. For the first time in history, a Black was not in Slytherin. The young Black, however, was not surprised by this and judging by the look in his mother eyes, neither was she.

"We wanted to make it clear what your obligations will be as a possible heir to the Black family," Walburga began, with her usual icy tone.

Regulus knew where that story was going. He was young, but he always had the ability to absorb the information around him and read between the lines. He always knew what his role within the family was. People expected things from him, unlike they did with Sirius. They expect him to be always well groomed, to be smarter and more talented than his brother, to behave properly and to bring pride to the family.

"As of today you are prohibited from any type of interaction with your brother. No letters, conversations, jokes and laughter. We may have lost track of him, but it will not happen to you," warned Walburga with a threatening tone.

"But what if we need to talk?" he asked with a softly tone. Walburga stood up abruptly and poured the hot tea she was drinking on the boy's face. Regulus felt his skin burn and his eyes sting, but remained calm.

"Always soft when it comes to that traitor," muttered the woman, slapping the boy in the face.

"Let's play this game then. If I heard of any interaction between you and that muggle worshiper, your dear brother will suffer the consequences. If it persists, he will have the penalty twice as strong the next time and so on, until the day when your dearest brother can simply... Not wake up," said Walburga with a poisonous tone. Regulus felt his body freeze, but did not react at all. The woman laughed.

"Perfect. This is the attitude that the true heir of the Black family must have," she celebrated with a triumphant tone.

"If I stay away from him, will you stop hitting him?" asked Regulus now staring at the woman in the eye.

Walburga seemed slightly surprised by the boy's audacity to ask her that and at the same time, she seemed to be impressed. Regulus was not that different from Sirius and she knew it. The fact that the boy was not so noisy or lost his temper so often did not make him weaker or cowardly than her oldest son, in fact, was just the opposite. Regulus confronted her in other ways, in ways that people often didn't even notice. She remember someone saying that there were two types of courage, that bold and loud one that she herself always saw in her firstborn; and the silent that appears when you least expect it. Exactly like she saw in Regulus. She knew that if she threatened to hit him, the boy would not care. She recalls when they were kids and he would always come in between her confrontations with Sirius, she would beat him up so badly and yet he wouldn't back down. He always intervened even if it was subtly and this only reinforced the eldest attitudes, so to keep them in line she initiated a different approach. To get to Regulus you needed to get to Sirius. When she finally understood that the boy would not disobey her if she threatened his brother, she started using it to her advantage and started to shape Regulus to be exactly who he was born to be. The heir to the noble house of the Blacks. In the end, she was surprised by the result; the boy was the perfect example of what a Black should be. However, Walburga was smart enough to know that if she didn't get the two of them to cut contact, she would lose her perfect heir and that was just not acceptable.

"May I ask you what will happen if I don't stop?" she asked her with a defiant tone. Regulus looked at her with a daring look, the same one she saw almost every day in Sirius' eyes.

"Then, I am afraid mother, that there will be no valid reason for me to stay away from him," he replied in a nonchalant tone. The tone she had taught him to use at all times, with everyone.

Without even realizing it, she had already slapped the boy in the face. He looked at her with the same look and she repeated and repeated the act several times.

"You won't be in contact with him anymore," she ordered after a while. Her hand was burning and the boy's face was already forming bruises.

"Will there be any reason for that, mother?" the boy asked with his indifferent and respectful tone.

This was how Regulus confronted her. He didn't disrespect or scream, he defied her politely and always keeping his composure. She was always at constant war with Sirius but his difficult personality and blazing temper did not make her as irritated as Regulus' indifferent eyes and politely bold responses. No matter how many times she tried, nothing seemed to get to him. In Regulus' ten years of existence, Walburga has never seen him give in.

Walburga gave a humorless laugh and massaged her hand.

"You were always a stubborn little bastard, weren't you? Always soft, especially when it comes to that bloody traitor you are so happy to call brother," she said, looking at the boy with disgust. He remained calm.

"Don't you remember, mother? You told me that yourself. Blacks don't give in," he replied with the same indifferent tone and daring look.

Walburga slapped him even harder.

"Sirius Black your ungrateful child! Go straight to your room," she shouted angrily. Regulus gave a triumphant little smile that made it very clear that he knew he had gotten what he wanted and headed for the stairs.

"I'm sorry mother, I think you got confused. I'm Regulus," he said politely and went silently to his room.


	2. Sorting

Regulus got up earlier than usual on September 1st. He was over-eager to embark on his first year and be free of Walburga for a few months. However, the boy was not as happy as he should be, the last time Regulus talked decently with his brother was when Sirius returned for Christmas and Walburga broke her part of the deal. He remembers shooting an ugly look at her and spending the whole day talking to Sirius the next morning, apparently keeping Regulus away from Sirius was more important than letting his son challenge her, as the woman did not lay a hand on the boy again.

During the holidays he made a tremendous effort to keep Sirius away from him and felt terrible about it. He would do anything to escape Walburga's constant guard, which usually resulted in a few hours of quiet conversation during the night. The eldest seemed to be very lonely; and as much as Regulus wanted to tell Sirius the whole truth, he was afraid. Maybe Walburga was exaggerating, but he didn't think she was joking. When the youngest was thinking that maybe he could talk to his brother in Hogwarts, the woman attacked again. The week before boarding after a fervent argument, his mother lost it, again. However, this time the damage was greater and she left Sirius unconscious for almost an afternoon. The youngest remember the woman speaking in her malicious tone.

"I just wanted to make sure you know your place"

Regulus felt a weight on his shoulders. Why did people expect so much from him? What was so special about him? Normally, he tried not to pay attention to the pressure on him, but sometimes it was just too much. Andromeda and Sirius were the only people who seemed to remember that he was just eleven years old. Even at a young age, he knew he needed to get into slytherin. It didn’t matter what he wanted, he had to fulfill all his parents' expectations. Even if the hat didn't want to put him there he needed to convince it to keep the tradition and sort him to slytherin. If this did not happen, Sirius would be in big trouble. Very big.  
Regulus breathed a sigh and came down for breakfast. The table was already served and he sat down, putting a cupcake on the plate and started eating quietly. He heard Sirius' hasty footsteps on the stairs and tried to run back upstairs.

“Hey, Reggie....” he heard his brother say, but ignored it and went back to his room.

How he missed Sirius. From his dull jokes, to his idiotic attitudes that left him thinking how someone could be so stupid and above all. How he felt alone without his best friend. A good thing came out of him being alone during the last year; Regulus had formed an unusual and very welcome friendship with the family's domestic elf. They always had a good relationship, but when the boy was alone Kreacher did everything to keep him company. He had also talked a lot with Andromeda the year before, even after she was disinherited by her family for marrying a muggle born, Regulus exchanged letters with her in hiding since she was like an older sister to him. Well; she and Cissy. Although, he preferred Narcissa before she decided that she needed to change. Not that he didn't understand, Regulus was young, but he already understood how the logic of his family worked. Narcissa was always praised for being gourgeous, but unlike Regulus nobody expected anything from her. He had even heard his aunt say that she should marry Malfoy, as it was the most she could get. Rubbish, in his opinion.

“Reggie, we're going”, he heard Sirius' voice announcing from downstairs.

The boy took one last breath and closed his trunk. He heard a loud slap and soon Kreacher appeared.

“Master Regulus needs help with the trunk? Kreacher can take it to the young master”, offered the elf and the boy smiled.

“Thanks Kreacher”, thanked Regulus with a smile, the elf bowed and disappeared with the boy's trunk.

The young Black left the room quietly and went down to the first floor. Sirius grumbled that no one had offered him help getting his trunk down and the youngest saw his belongings carefully deposited near the sofa. Walburga appeared and as usual, started screaming that she didn't have all day to wait. Sirius stopped on one side with his stuff and Regulus on the other; both gave a hand to the woman and disappeared to the platform.

The youngest looked around in admiration when they arrived at the station. He wasn't supposed to show it, but it was hard to hide the excitement of being in that place. Finally, it was his turn, he had dreamed of it since Cissy received her letter.

“I'm going to look for my friends”, Sirius announced more for his brother than for his mother and disappeared among the crowd of people.  
Walburga turned to her youngest son.

“I believe our conditions are understood”, she began, Regulus politely agreed.

“I believe so, mother”, he answered with his usual indifferent tone.

Walburga gave an angry sigh.

“I will have people who will tell me if you keep in touch with that blood traitor”, she warned, Regulus remained indifferent.

“I understand mother, but I don't believe it is necessary”, he replied politely, Walburga closed her hand angry.

“I know what I must do”, he said with a cold tone.

“Well, don't let us down. I understand that you don't want your dear brother to be sent to st Mungus, do you?” She said in an acidic way. Regulus gave her a polite nod.

The boy took his belongings and went inside the train without even looking back. He didn't want to see Walburga's face so soon.

Regulus wandered the train looking for a compartment to sit in and soon saw Sirius in a cabin with a shaggy raven-haired boy, another light-haired boy with some interesting scars in the middle of his face and another short, fat boy. Regulus just gave a weak smile and kept walking until he found an empty cabin at the end of the train.

***

Sirius was worried about his younger brother. When he had returned for Christmas the year before he could see that Regulus' behavior was very different. It seemed that the boy was more distant than usual, but what surprised him most was the treatment Regulus had with him. His little brother always knew how to behave, but with him, he did not act very differently from how a normal child would act. This Christmas, however, he felt Regulus' strange treatment with him and on returning to the summer the situation only got worse. The youngest hardly spoke to him, they could only talk for a few hours at night and Sirius did not understand what had happened. The only reason he was anxious to return to that house was to tell Regulus what Hogwarts was like, how the classes were and how he had made great friends, however, he had so little contact with his brother that he couldn't even tell him all he wanted.

“Hey, Sirius. Didn't you say your brother would start at Hogwarts this year?” Asked James, Black slowly agreed.

“Do you think he will be sorted to slytherin?” Asked Lupin, the other sighed.

“I don't know, Regulus is a strange kid,” he murmured in response.

“Well; he's your brother after all,” joked James, Sirius laughed and pushed the boy.

“Shut up Potter”, he answered with a funny tone.

He tried to focus on his friends' jokes, but it was difficult and he found himself thinking about what could have led his brother to such a sudden change of behavior. Was he disappointed? Wasn't Sirius a person he admired anymore? Had his mother finally succeeded in instilling her absurd values into his little brother's head? He tried to think that maybe Regulus was going to be sorted for another house; after all, he didn't think he was that different from him. Still, he could not be sure. He wasn't lying when he said Regulus was a strange kid. They were brothers and spent most of their lives together, but Sirius couldn't read Regulus as easily as the youngest did with him; in fact, he wasn’t sure if he ever understood his brother's personality.

After many hours of travelling, the locomotive finally stopped and everyone disembarked. Sirius could see Narcissa with her slytherin friends and she gave him a weak smile, which he reciprocated. The boy looked for his brother with his eyes and found him with the first year students with Hagrid; he gave a smile and went with his friends to the carriages.

Regulus was a pile of nerves when the train finally stopped. He got off the train and went with a group of students where a huge man was calling the first year students. They walked to a pier and the man instructed that it should be four children on each boat. Regulus boarded one of the boats with a freckled blond boy, a girl with long straight hair and glasses and another girl with black wavy hair and huge green eyes.

“Did you see that?” Said the green-eyed girl perched on the boat and trying to see further ahead.

“I hear they have a giant squid, do you think that is true? Do you think it bites?” She questioned, Regulus rolled his eyes. "That's great, I got the chatterbox," he thought.

The path continued with the girl babbling about the most diverse things and he hated to admit it, but he was impressed. She seemed to be very bright, but what he found most incredible was the amount of words per minute that that girl could talk and the amount of unnecessary information that she knew. Who cares if there are centaurs in the forbidden forest? Or even that they are classified as beasts even though they are rational? When the journey finally ended, he thanked Merlin. One more minute and he would have lost his patience with that girl. Merlin she talks too much! Regulus only hoped that he wouldn't have too many classes with her.

They got off the boats and grouped together in a kind of hall. Of course, he was impressed by the castle, but his nervousness only increased as the sorting approached. The more it get closer and closer, he only thought about how he had no option to go to any other house.

A woman of severe features and a very tight bun appeared and everyone kept quiet.

“In a few minutes we will start the sorting. Please form a line, I will be back soon to pick you up”, warned the woman. All the first-years formed a line awkwardly, in a few minutes the woman returned.

“Good evening, everyone. I am Minerva McGonagall, transfiguration teacher and head of the gryffindor house. When you pass through these doors, you will be sorted to your houses; they are gryffindor, hufflepuff, slytherin and ravenclaw. In your period here, your houses will be like your families. You will attend classes with your housemates and spend your free time in the communal room of your houses. Your attitudes may earn you points or make you lose them, at the end of the year the house with the most points will win the house cup. Now, without further ado, we will start the sorting”, explained the teacher.

The door opened and the teacher entered a large hall with all the new students behind her. In the great hall, there were four long tables in different colors and the teachers' table was highlighted. Regulus looked at everything curiously while trying very hard not to get even more irritated by the girl on the boat that was walking behind him. He passed his eyes through the slytherin table and saw Cissy looking forward; he turned his gaze to the gryffindor table and saw Sirius chatting animatedly with his friends, and gave a light smile. It was good to see his brother happy after the crappy summer he had. The boy looked forward and saw the teacher bring a stool and put an old hat on it, to the surprise of all the first-years it began to sing.

After the performance everyone applauded, Regulus found it curious that the hat could sing and politely applauded with the other students.

“When I call your names, step forward, I will put the hat on your heads and you will be sorted to your houses”, she explained by uncoiling a scroll.

Regulus felt his whole body becoming tense and looked around the room again, Cissy still seemed anxious and paid a lot of attention to what the teacher was saying. At the gryffindor table, Sirius was still talking discreetly with his friends and seemed to laugh at something one of his friends had said.

“Black, Regulus”, the teacher called, Regulus turned her gaze quickly forward and walked slowly to the bench.

The boy sat down and the teacher put the hat on his head.

"Ah, yes. Um... A Black, I see. Much like your brother, more than you know. Very bright, I see. Very daring, discreet but very brave. Cold-blooded and very... Kind? Now now, you have been by far the most interesting of your family. Where to put it? ”

"Slytherin, please" asked the boy.

"Slytherin, hm.... I see a lot of slytherin characteristics that are common on your family, talent, resourcefulness, cunning. I don't deny that you do great it slytherin, but it wouldn't be my option for you".

"I need to go to slytherin" begged the boy.

"Not because you want, I see. There is many interesting features in you, Mr. Regulus Black. Courage, altruism, kindness, cunning, intelligence. It is intriguing"  
"Please put me in slytherin" kept asking the boy with his heart racing.

The great hall was silent, nobody expected the selection of the boy to last this long. Sirius watched his brothers’ sorting apprehensively and every minute that passed, he got hopeful that maybe his brother would be sorted to another house.

"I wouldn't put you in the slytherin, no. You don’t have a sense of self-preservation and is willing to do what you can to protect the one you love".

"I already know"

“Grif ....” he started, but Regulus mentally shouted for him to stop.

"Slytherin, please. I need to go to slytherin" begged the boy.

"Are you sure? I don't see that you’re chosen it because you want to. Let me ask you a question, young man. This is the crucial moment for you. What do you choose; you can follow your own path and discover your true potential, or follow the expectations of your family and grow to be exact what your family want you to be”.

Regulus remained calm for a while and then thought.

"If I follow the family's expectations, Sirius will be fine. So; I choose to go according to tradition," 

"You have a very good heart, really a pity that you can’t follow it. Be wise, Regulus Black" finished the hat.

“Slytherin”, announced the object at last, the green and silver table exploded in applause.

Regulus stood up and took off his hat. He saw the teacher casting an intrigued and pitiful glance at him. The boy went to the slytherin table in relief and sat down next to Cissy who welcomed him with a hug.

“I knew you would come here”, she celebrated and the boy forced a smile.

He looked around the great hall and saw Sirius strangely in silence and with an upset look. He sighed and turned his gaze back to the sorting. Many people were selected and a last name caught his attention.

“Yane, Ariana”, called the teacher.

The chatterbox of the boat walked to the bench and Regulus was attentive. He was curious to know where she was going, the girl kept the hat for a while and he soon announced.

“Hufflepuff”, said the object, the yellow and black table exploded in applause and Regulus stifled the laughter. Now that he thought about it, it made sense.

The sorting ended and finally dinner was served. Regulus ate in silence, only answering a few questions from Narcissa and then she guided the new students to the slytherin communal room. The boy went straight to his dorm did his hygiene and went to sleep, without making much effort to talk to the others.


End file.
